This site is maintained for Midwives in Private Practice (MiPP), a collective of independent midwives in Victoria. We are committed to the essence of midwifery, being 'with woman' - each woman and her midwife preparing to welcome the child she bears, working in harmony with and protecting intuitive natural processes in birth and nurture of the newborn and the establishment of loving, resilient families.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Key issues for midwives

Referring to the development of visiting access arrangements for midwives in public hospitals (see previous post), the following comment has been offered by a highly respected 'elder' of the midwifery profession, Helen Sandner, from Bendigo.

I would just like to put forward a few key issues that I think are paramount for future discussions and consideration in the planning and implementation of a written document.

Midwives autonomy. In saying this I do not mean in a dictatorial way, but I believe that it is important to acknowledge that we are registered to practice as autonomous practitioners. It is only the Government that is putting us back under the auspices of the medical profession with the Collaborative Determination.

Collaborative respect. We deserve equal respect and I would like to see this in writing. We are not underdogs or lesser professionals and this needs to be acknowledged and therefore we should be referred to in any document with the same level of professionalism as any other healthcare professional.

Consent, informed decisions and right of refusal. All without saying the women should be the focus and these points should be acknowledged in any written document.

Midwives choosing to work privately, rather than being employed by hospitals, do so because it allows us to be flexible about the care we provide. We offer one-to-one primary care, which enables the woman and her midwife to establish a partnership based on trust and reciprocity.

Midwives who are interested in extending their practices to include a caseload and homebirth, whether as independent (self-employed) practitioners or as employees of a maternity service, are welcome to join in with MiPP activities. If you have a blog or website that you would like linked to this blog, or have other questions, please get in touch.

Thankyou for visiting this blog. I hope you will find it informative and useful. If you want to contact me by email, rather than leaving a message in the comments section of the blog, please do so joy@aitex.com.au.Joy Johnston